COVID-19 Spend Trend Continues
C-store dollar sales and trips show a slight contraction, but basket spend is still up, PDI/NACS Insights show.
Dec 08, 2020 | 3 min read
By Kim Stewart
ALEXANDRIA, Va.—Dollar sales at U.S. convenience stores fell slightly during the past four weeks because of fewer trips and a decline in overall spend, according to the latest monthly report from PDI and NACS on how COVID-19 is affecting consumer behavior. Still, spend per transaction continued to outperform the year-ago period as it has done for much of the pandemic.
For the four weeks ended November 29, dollar sales edged lower to +2.4%, compared with +3.6% for the four weeks ended November 1. Trips pulled back to -12.6% for the latest four-week period, compared with -12% for the prior four-week period.
Although basket spend (dollars per transaction) is still higher than the same period a year ago (+17.2% for the four weeks ended November 29 vs. +17.7% for the period ended November 1), consumers aren’t spending as much inside the store as they did during the first wave of the pandemic last spring and through September this year.
The c-store categories that saw the biggest gains in trips were cigarettes (-10.5% vs. -11.5% for the four weeks ended November 1), hot dispensed beverages (-28.7% vs. -29.3%) and packaged sweet snacks (-11.7% vs. -13.4%). The hardest hit categories in terms of trips included packaged beverages (-2.8% vs. -0.8%), lottery/gaming (-14.4% vs. -9.3%) and candy (-12.5% vs. -10.8%). Unlike most months’ end, store services performed quite well during the week ended November 29, likely tied to holiday shopping.
Trips during the morning rush daypart between 7 and 9:59 a.m. were at 85% of prior-year trips, up about a point when compared with the four weeks ended November 1.
On a dollar basis for the four-week period ended November 29, the categories with the biggest changes were packaged beverages (+7.4% vs. +10.2% for the four weeks ended November 1) and lottery/gaming (+6.6% vs. 17.7%). Foodservice prepared on-site showed strong improvement (-12.9% vs. -17.5% for the four weeks ended November 1), offering a somewhat brighter picture for operations that are crucial for many convenience retailers. Foodservice improvement was largely due to increased spend per trip, but over the past six months trips have been climbing slowly.
PDI and NACS continue to watch the consumer shopping data to see if the most recent surge in COVID-19 cases in the U.S. is resulting in different patterns than what occurred during the initial outbreak.
Powered by PDI Insights Cloud, the report provides consumer trip and basket-level data and analysis that will enable essential businesses around the United States to deliver what their customers want and need right now. The report combines consumer buying data from 5,500 mid- to large-size convenience retail sites across all key geographic locations.
Click here to read the free two-page summary, and click here to get the full report from PDI, including category sales analysis.
Kim Stewart is editorial director of NACS and editor-in-chief of NACS Magazine.
Metrics
